SOIL ORGANIC MATTER CHARACTERISTICS AFTER LONG-TERM CROPPING TO VARIOUS SPRING WHEAT ROTATIONS

Abstract

Soil from a long-term crop rotation study conducted at Lethbridge, Alberta was analyzed to determine the influence of various spring wheat rotations with and without perennial forages on total and mineralizable soil organic matter contents. Crop rotations considered included: continuous wheat (W), fallow-wheat (FW), fallow-wheat-wheat (FWW), and fallow-wheat-wheat-forage-forage-forage (FWWAAA) in which the forage was a mixture of alfalfa and crested wheat grass. The organic C and N contents of soil after 33 yr of cropping were highest in treatments W and FWWAAA, and decreased with increasing frequency of fallow in the rotation. The inclusion of the perennial forage in the rotation did not increase organic C and N levels above those observed in the continuous wheat treatment (W). Differences in levels of mineralizable organic matter among treatments, as measured in laboratory incubations, were much greater than differences in total organic matter content among treatments. In the surface soil layer (0–15 cm), N mineralization was significantly higher in treatment W than in treatments FWW and FWWAAA, and was more than twice that observed in treatment FW. In the subsurface soil layer (15–30 cm), N mineralization was greatest in treatment FWWAAA when sampled just after the plowdown of forage. Effects of crop rotation on C mineralization were similar to those observed for N. Levels of mineralized organic matter were closely related to levels of "light fraction" material (specific gravity < 1.59 g cm−3), which is believed to consist primarily of incompletely decomposed organic matter of plant origin. Differences in amounts of mineralizable organic matter among treatments were attributed to varying frequencies and patterns of crop residue additions. The pronounced effects of crop rotation on the distribution of organic matter among labile and humified organic matter will have a strong impact on soil fertility and may need to be taken into consideration in the development of fertilizer recommendations. It was concluded that inclusion of perennial forages in spring wheat rotations for the purpose of enhancing soil fertility and organic matter levels was not justified under semiarid conditions. Key words: Carbon, nitrogen, mineralization